Shashi Tharoor

Former Minister of State, External Affairs

Date of Birth: 09/03/1956
Place of Birth: London

Appointed as Minister of State for External Affairs for Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, Shashi Tharoor brought his experience in the United Nations to the post. As a sign of his UN-style even-handedness, Tharoor claims that Delhi is not in competition with Beijing in Africa and that 'there is space for both.'

He served under External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna. Prior to his return to India, Tharoor won a high profile as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Executive Assistant in 1997. From 2001, he directed the Department of Public Information. His 2006 campaign to succeed Annan failed to win US and Chinese support. In 2007 he left the UN to become Chairman of Dubai-based Afras Ventures. In March when he won a seat for the Indian National Congress in the Lok Sabha (lower house).

Tharoor has enjoyed a successful parallel career as novelist and newspaper columnist. His embrace of technology puts him instantly in touch with the public - he regularly posts on social-networking site Twitter - but the wealthy Tharoor has chafed against the INC's austerity measures. In one post, he called the economy class in which he now flies 'cattle class', but he quickly learned to write happier accounts covering his experience of the hospitality and scenic beauty of West Africa. He visited Ghana and Liberia in mid-September 2009 to re-build links in West Africa.

Born in London in 1956, Tharoor studied history at St. Stephen's College in Delhi, then took a master's and PhD from Tufts University, United States. At 22, he joined the UN at the High Commissioner for Refugees. In 1989, he moved to New York, where he oversaw the peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia.

In April 2010 he stepped down from his ministerial position on instruction from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.